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Changing Trends For Women In The 1920s

Clothing styles are always changing; some changes are good and some are debatable. There will always be changes in a younger generation's wardrobe that the older generation may not like or approve of, but this was never more true than during the 1920s when it seemed that all sense of propriety and dignity had been thrown out the window. It was not just with the flappers, all women's clothing and general appearance underwent a major transformation during this time. But it was the flapper that brought to the forefront of fashion the changes and evolution that took place during the decade.

The term flapper was not introduced until about 1922, and people such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Held Jr. helped propel this image into society through their writings and art. G. Stanley Hall, a writer for the

Atlantic Monthly said in one of his articles in 1922,

The dictionary set me right by defining the word as a fledgling, yet in the nest, and vainly attempting to fly while its wings have only pinfeathers; and I recognized that the genius of 'slanguage' had made the squab the symbol of budding girlhood.[1]

Another definition of the flapper came from a young girl, named Ellen Welles Page.

I am within the age limit. I wear bobbed hair, the badge of flapperhood. (And, oh, what a comfort it is!), I powder my nose. I wear fringed skirts and bright-colored sweaters, and scarfs, and waists with Peter Pan collars, and low- heeled "finale hopper" shoes. I adore to dance. I spend a large amount of time in automobiles. I attend hops, and proms, and ball-games, and crew races, and other affairs at men's colleges.[2]

One of the more notable traits of the flapper was the bobbed hair. It was introduced by a famous dancer named Irene Castle in 1914, after she spent some time touring Europe. Previously, women's hair was worn long in braids or pinned on top of the head; young women now began to cut their hair extremely short. Women who cut their hair view it as shedding the traditional symbol of femininity and stepping into a new role of self-assertion and independence.[3] It was also a practical move during the war. Women in the work force cut their hair to keep it out of the way and so it would not be a problem when working around machines.

Controversies over the new hairdo emerged. Parents and preachers railed against it, women lost their jobs because of it and many people said that the short hair style would not stick around and long hair would return to fashion. Female teachers who cut their hair often kept what was taken off and pinned it to their head when working to hide their new hairdo. Queen Mary of England commented that she did not mind the bobbed hair cuts as long as ladies made some attempt to conceal the short hair when at court functions and royal ceremonies.

At first, people generally thought that the new fad would eventually die out. In 1925, "the bob" was still the rage. Usually cut blunt at the ears all around, it was worn with or without bangs. The new hair style opened the door for women to try other things with their hair, such as perming and coloring. As the trend continued to grow so did the styles. Bobs were cut in different fashions such as the shingle and in waves. By 1927, the bob was not as big a controversy as society had become more accepting to the short hair.

Hair, though, was not the only feature attached to the flapper. The style of dress changed quite a bit during the 1920s. Dresses had previously been floor or ankle length. The main trend of the 20s, however, was the mid-calf length. The waist line on dresses and skirts dropped to the hips and the neckline no longer went to the throat. Instead of the hour-glass shaped body of the early 1900s achieved only with the help of a corset, a straight box silhouette with no curves came into style.

The shorter hem lines permitted more freedom to move and women found they enjoyed doing physical activities. Golf and tennis were two sports that women began competing in during the 1920s. Glenna Collett was one of the foremost women golfers[4] and Helen Wills won the British Amateur Championship at Wimbledon in 1926.[5] Both ladies styled outfits, when competing, where the hem line came to just below the knees.

In 1926, hem lengths reached an all time shortage, reaching just at the knees. Formal evening wear occasionally did not even reach that far, and one could catch glimpses of bare legs when dancing. By the end of 1927 skirts had dropped back down to the calf and in formal dresses to the floor. There had been thoughts that women's styles would revert back to the ankle length for everyday wear, something that was not well liked by physicians. They saw the shorter skirts as a health benefit for females; since they allowed more movement, women were now engaging in more exercise and were much healthier. They did not have much to worry about. Never again would everyday clothes reach the ankles for women.

The 1920s really introduced the idea of dieting and losing weight for women. in keeping with the fashion of straight and slim, young girls began "fasting" or simply not eating. At age fifteen, Yvonne Blue wanted to lose weight. In 1926, she began skipping meals and wrote in her diary that after a few days she felt "weak and trembly."[6] A year later she wrote, "Good lord, but I made a fuss about not eating for two days last year. Now I think less than nothing about not eating for a day...and I'd just as soon not eat as eat."[7] Yearbooks from the time hold other instances were weight was on girls minds. Many senior girls wrote that one abomination for them was gaining weight. Another girl wished she could "eat all day and lose weight."[8]

Footwear also changed. Cotton and wool stockings were a thing of the past. Silk stockings emerged that showed the actual color and tone of the leg. As silk became more popular, stocking were embossed and decorated, around the ankles at first but eventually covered the whole leg. They also came out in many different colors; not just black, brown and white, but red, blue, green and pink. The way stockings were worn also altered. No more pulling them up past the knees with the fasteners, they were rolled down over a pair of garters just below the knees giving passersby a peek at bare knees if a breeze was present.

Shoes were now more visible with shorter skirts and fashion designers played on that fact by adding shoes to complete "the total look" of a woman. To go along with the slim silhouette of the female, shoes became narrower and confined as well as higher. Women's shoes had never had more than an inch block heel on them; designers reshaped the heel and made it taller to add to the femininity and daintiness of the styles.

Another changing characteristic of the flapper, despite its lack of discussion at the time, was the evolution of women's underwear. Formerly having consisted of a few layers with the shift, drawers, corset and a petticoat or two, women's underclothes gradually decreased to a simple one-piece called a chemise or a teddy.

Women's undergarments in the past had always been a taboo subject in regards to public discussions and advertisements. However, the 1920s made a bold move and introduced public advertisements for women's underwear and stockings. Described as the "female blush felt round the world, " women simply "blushed, bought, blushed again and bought more."[9] No longer just white and made from cotton, the chemise was manufactured in satin and silk, and as one advertisement stated "It comes in ninety different shades."[10]

One of the arguments against the new shoes and underwear was health issues. YWCAs ran shoe campaigns to inform young women of the correct type of shoe they should be looking for. With the new narrower designs, a normal foot would be crushed at the toes. The higher heels also gave cause for concern. Physician Florence Sherman argued that heels distorted a woman's center of gravity which would lead to problems like poor posture as well as "a train of misplacements and congestions such as...constipation, indigestion, misplaced uterus...nor should we forget that the story of bad feet writes itself in wrinkles and a look of old age."[11] One advertisement against high-heeled shoes ran "Men don't walk on pegs-why should women?"[12] Preachers even delivered sermons against the new footwear because the women of the congregation will not pay attention to God's Word if they are constantly thinking about how much their feet are being squished.

The argument against the new style of underclothes was the lack of protection against the elements led to poorer health in those who went about "half-clad" including an increased risk in possibly getting sick with tuberculosis. There was also an outcry against throwing away corsets and the girdle replacements. Girdles permitted women to move freely, but they did not give the back support that the corset had. But as Flapper Jane said, "The corset is as dead as the dodo's grandfather."[13]

Makeup became very popular in the 1920s. Previously only worn by "loose women" powder, eyeliner, rouge and lipstick were worn in excessive amounts. In the 1925 article "Flapper Jane, " Bruce Bliven gives this description. "She is frankly, heavily made up, not to imitate nature, but for an altogether artificial effect--pallor mortis, poisonously scarlet lips, richly ringed eyes..."[14] Earlier in the century, if a woman was going to wear makeup, it was applied before she left her room. During the 1920s, it was not uncommon to see a flapper putting on makeup while standing outside her home or the street corner. Throughout the decade, the average amount of powder used by women came to about two pounds a year per woman.

Just like today, young girls looked to the famous actresses and models for the latest fashion. Louise Brooks, Clara Bow and Mary Pickford did much to help set the tone for the styles and appearances of women in the 1920s.

Other attribute attached to the flappers dealt not with her overall appearance, but her actions. Young women began driving cars more often, going out drinking and smoking. An article in a 1920 edition of

The New York Times asked a sales clerk how many women had come in to buy cigarettes. The reporter guessed twelve to twenty. The response was "You're not stringing me are you? Twelve or twenty? Seventy-five or a hundred is more like it..."[15] Another clerk stated that "today 50 percent of our patrons are women..."[16] A father in 1927, said that he assumed that his girls had never drunk alcohol or smoked cigarettes before, until one night at dinner when provoked by his wife one of his daughters asked for his cigarettes.

Without the slightest suspicion of what was forthcoming, I threw Elizabeth my cigarettes. She withdrew a fag from the package, tapped it on the back of her left hand, inserted it between her lips, reached over and took my lighted cigarette from my mouth, lit her own cigarette and blew airy rings toward the ceiling.[17]

Parents all over the country were shocked and in horror at the behavior of their daughters.

As for drinking, prohibition was in effect so it was illegal for anyone to drink. However, women were right along side men in the speakeasies and dance clubs in the big cities and some females, like Texas Guinan, ran their own clubs.[18] Club owners hired young women to work as servers and entertainers. Night life was a new thing to female's world and going on dates without chaperones had rarely been heard of before this time. Women had never smoked or drank alcohol publicly and the older generation felt that the young women of their time were headed down a path of wickedness and immorality.

One more item to add to the list of immoral features of the younger female generation was the advent of the one-piece swimsuit. In years past, bathing costumes had consisted of a long sleeved, short dress, pantaloons and stockings. The beginning of the century had brought about short sleeves on the tops, but everything else remained. The dress and pantaloons were baggy and hid the female figure.

The first introduction to the one piece bathing suit was in 1908 by Annette Kellerman. Cut at the shoulders and half way up the thigh, with stocking rolled at the knees, Annette and women who wore the suit for many years were arrested for indecent exposure; the suit was legally banned in many parts of the country until the late 1920s. One controversy documented took place in Atlantic City in 1921. Suit regulations were that the suit could not be too low in the front or the back, the attached skirt had to be reasonable length, at least halfway to the knees, and bare limbs were unacceptable. Stockings that covered the entire leg were required.[19]

Many women were unhappy with these rulings. Letters to the mayor gave reasons as to why the ban on the one-piece suit was ridiculous. Ada Taylor, a Sunday school teacher felt there was nothing wrong with the one-piece suit. Two young girls argued that a good swimmer can not possibly swim as well if she is being dragged down by a cumbersome skirt. Even a local physician felt that the ban was being carried too far. "People are getting disgusted with Atlantic City as far as beach regulations are concerned...Anybody knows that the action of the water is more beneficial without stockings than with them."[20] Despite the unhappy beach goers, the ban remained in place.

By 1927, the one-piece suits were no longer considered indecent. They were found all over beaches in America, in advertisements and worn by actresses such as Clara Bow.[21] Beauty pageants that were held included a bathing suit competition and even back in 1921, the Miss America winner Margaret Gorman had her stockings rolled below her knees.[22]

As always, the style changes took place first in the cities and gradually moved out into the country sides where people were more hesitant to change. The older generation made attempts to stifle the flow of trendy clothes, including Berea College faculty. When a student was admitted to the school, their parents received a pamphlet with this statement: "This letter may save you many dollars and many a heartache. Will you not read it with utmost care?"[23] In this letter, it gave information as to tuition, books, lodging and the necessary items that would be needed on attending Berea College.

The main portion of the pamphlet, however, is devoted to a female's wardrobe, including some do's and do not's. For example, silk as a rule of thumb was not permitted, unless used as a trim or was used on the top part of the outfit. Even then, it could only be worn on special occasions as dress wear. Other materials, like velvet, velveteen, corduroy, Celanese and silk voile were "too expensive for Berea students and not permitted."[24] Shoes could not have heels higher than one and a half inches and the diameter had to be half an inch. French heels were forbidden. Stockings had to be the basic colors, no plaid or conspicuous hose were permitted. Light colored hose were not to be worn during the fall and winter, dark colors were mandatory.

There were also regulations as to when certain clothes could be worn. Clothes designated for dress or special occasions could only be worn on Sundays, holidays, after noon on Mondays and after 4:30 PM during the rest of the week. White dresses and shoes made of patent leather, canvas or linen could only be worn on special occasions as well. White coats were not permitted at all. Any young women who was found having forbidden items in her room was fined and required to send it back home.[25]

Towards the end of the decade, gradual concessions were made. In 1926, a Convocation Meeting was held discussing silk dresses and hose. It was commented that it would not be bad to allow the girls to wear these items in order to teach them when it would be appropriate to wear silk. However, the former rule of no silk was retained because the students were receiving money to come to Berea College and they should not be spending it on frivolities like silk.[26] On March 27, 1928, a meeting of the Deans of Women voted on allowing any material that was made of half silk to be used for dresses. The rule on shoes still stood. And on January 15, 1929, it was ruled that female students could wear whatever color stockings they wanted to at whatever time they chose. Plaid was still forbidden and the stocking could not be rolled below the knees.[27] The reasoning advertised for all the rules for the feminine wardrobe was the desire for simplicity, good taste and inexpensiveness.

Frank Zappa said, "Without deviation, progress is not possible." Deviation from the normal styles, appearances and attitudes occurred, however not everyone agreed that all the changes which took place could constitute as progress. The transformation of America's young women was a culture shock to many members of the older generation who were less inclined to accept the changes. But as expected, the younger embraced the new trends and carried them with the attitude and flare that is documented today.

Bibliography

Amory, Cleveland & Frederic Bradlee, eds.

Vanity Fair: Selections from American's

Most Memorable Magazine. A Cavalcade of the 1920s and 1930s. New York: Viking Press, Inc., 1960.

Bliven, Bruce. "Flapper Jane." The New Republic 44 (Sept. 9, 1925): 65-67.

Brown, Dorothy M.

Setting a Course: American Women in the 1920s. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1987.

"Convocation Minutes." Student Life Records. Record Group 5.15. Berea College Archives.

"The Jazz Age: Flapper Culture and Style." 2001. http://www.geocities.com/flapper_culture/

Joselit, Jenna Weissman.

A Perfect Fit: Clothes Character ad the Promise of America. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2001.

Latham, Angela J.

Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls and other Brazen

Performers of the American 1920s. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 2000.

Lemons, J. Stanley.

The Women Citizen: Social Feminism in the 1920s. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1973.

"A Letter to Parents from Berea College." Student Life Records. Record Group 5.15. Berea College Archives.

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The 10s, the 20s, the 30s: Inventive Clothes, 1909-1939.

"Minutes from the Deans of Women Meeting." Student Life Records. Record Group 5.15. Berea College Archives.

"Minutes of joint Meeting with Deans of Women and Clothing Committee." Student Life Records. Record Group 5.15. Berea College Archives.

Mowry, George E. ed.

The Twenties: Fords, Flappers and Fanatics. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, : Prentice-Hall Inc., 1963.

Page, Ellen Welles. "A Flapper's Appeal to Parents." Outlook 132 (Dec. 6, 1922): 607.

Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Flappers in the Roaring Twenties." About.com. 2006. http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/a/flappers.htm

Schrum, Kelly.

Some Wore Bobby Sox: The Emergence of Teenage Girl's Culture, 1920-

1945. New York: Palgrave MacMillian, 2004.

[1] Jennifer Rosenberg. "Flappers in the Roaring Twenties." About.com. 2006. http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/a/flappers.htm

[2] Ellen Welles Page. "A Flapper's Appeal to Parent."

Outlook 132. (Dec. 6, 1922) 607.

[3] Angela J. Latham. Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls and other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s. (Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 2000) 2.

[4] Cleveland Amory & Frederic Bradlee, eds.

Vanity Fair: Selections from American's

Most Memorable Magazine. A Cavalcade of the 1920s and 1930s. (New York:Viking Press, Inc., 1960) 86.

[5] Ibid., 119.

[6] Kelly Schrum. Some Wore Bobby Sox: The Emergence of Teenage Girl's Culture, 1920-1945. (New York: Palgrave MacMillian, 2004) 71.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid., 72.

[9] Angela J. Latham. Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls and other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s. (Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 2000) 38.

[10] Ibid., 39.

[11] Ibid., 57.

[12] Ibid., 55.

[13] Bruce Bliven. "Flapper Jane." The New Republic 44 (Sept. 9, 1925) 66.

[14] Ibid., 65.

[15] George E. Mowry, ed.

The Twenties: Fords, Flappers and Fanatics. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ, : Prentice-Hall Inc., 1963) 178.

[16] Ibid., 179.

[17] W. O. Saunders. "Me and My Flapper Daughters, " The American Magazine 104 (Aug. 1927) 27.

[18] Cleveland Amory & Frederic Bradlee, eds.

Vanity Fair: Selections from American's Most Memorable Magazine. A Cavalcade of the 1920s and 1930s. (New York: Viking Press, Inc., 1960) 142.

[19] Angela J. Latham. Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls and other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s. (Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 2000) 71.

[20] Angela J. Latham. Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls and other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s. (Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 2000) 72.

[21] Cleveland Amory & Frederic Bradlee, eds.

Vanity Fair: Selections from American's

Most Memorable Magazine. A Cavalcade of the 1920s and 1930s. (New York:Viking Press, Inc., 1960) 153.

[22] Angela J. Latham. Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls and other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s. (Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 2000) 91.

[23] "A letter to Parents." Student Life Records. Record Group 5.15. Berea College Archives.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Ibid.

[26] "Convocation Minutes." Student Life Records. Record Group 5.15. Berea College Archives.

[27] "Minutes from Meeting of Deans of Women." Student Life Records. Record Group 5.15. Berea College Archives